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Former Mayor Garcia Passes

Former Mayor Elmo Garcia Passes

Updated:
July 15, 2010, 6:40 a.m.

Former Oakdale Mayor Elmo Garcia, 74, died Tuesday, July 6 with his family at his side after a long and courageous battle with cancer.He was born and raised in Oakdale to Pablo and Micaela Garcia. He attended Oakdale schools.By the age of 21, Mr. Garcia was already showing his commitment to the City of Oakdale when he assisted with forming Oakdale’s first Police Reserves. He obtained the rank of Captain for three years and was a member of the reserves for 10 years.In his early 30s, he was elected to the Oakdale City Council, serving from 1968 through 1984. He served as Mayor from 1984-1994. He was the first Hispanic councilman and mayor for the City of Oakdale. His last elected position was from 2000-2004 when he served as Oakdale City Treasurer.“Elmo was a wonderful councilman and mayor,” said Wes Stewart, former Oakdale city councilman and mayor, serving from 1966-1972. “He had the attributes of the five “C”s: courage, candor, competence, commitment, and most of all, caring. He had an open door policy for anyone who wanted to talk to him. He was my good friend and we’re going to miss him very much. He was always working and looking for ways to make the city and community a better place.”He added that he had the honor of serving with Garcia on the council, and also when Stewart was City Clerk, for over eight years.“He was so personable, anybody could call him up,” Stewart said. “No matter how big or small, he took their problems to heart. He came up the hard way himself. He was a very hard-working man.”Garcia served on numerous Oakdale commissions and he was most gratified by helping establish the Oakdale Senior Complex and Senior Center. He was a lifetime member of the Oakdale Saddle Club. He also represented Stanislaus County by serving on the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) from 1976-1979 and served as LAFCO Chairman from 1982-1983. He served on the Stanislaus Area Association of Governments (SAAG), Region K Criminal Justice Planning Board for Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Mariposa, and Merced counties. He was a member and President of the Central Division of League of California Cities. He was nominated by then-California Gov. Jerry Brown and appointed by United States President Ronald Reagan to serve on the Stanislaus County Selective Service Board #61.Mr. Garcia was a Real Estate Broker/Appraiser. He was a man of dignity and pride who loved his life, his family, and his city.He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Alice; children, John (Laura) Garcia, Loretta (Dave) Laughlin, all of Modesto, Donna (Ron) Borges of Oakdale; brothers, Paul, Darrell, Adolphe, and Willie Garcia; sisters, Helen Mate, Dorothy Ybarra, Sally Scoonover; granddaughters, Jennifer Davis, Gloria Valdez, Stephanie Garcia, Heather Gerlach; and 13 great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his parents, Micaela and Pablo Garcia; brother, David Garcia; sisters, Jenny Garcia, Refie Lopez, Rosie Shaw, and Connie Martinez.A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 14 followed by burial service at Oakdale Citizens Cemetery.Leader reporter Dawn M. Henley contributed to this report.